Don't Call it Daffy - Duck Leg Ragu!

This video recipe was filmed over a year ago (with a webcam duct-taped to a spice rack), and was never posted here due to what I thought was a corrupted file (and no back-up). I won’t bore you with the technical details (which means I'm not sure how I did it), but I was able to extract the video and do a new voice-over. Unfortunately, there were no photos of the dish, which explains the screen shot, with watercolor filter applied, seen here.

As I say in the video, duck legs are such great meat. They are cheap, rich tasting, easy to work with, and if you do some research, you'll learn that duck fat is actually not such a bad thing. I doubt your local grocery store sells them - instead you'll find whole frozen ducks, which will work in a pinch. But, if you call a meat market, or restaurant supplier, they can easily order a box of frozen duck legs for you. I get mine at a local SF meat wholesaler for about $3 a pound.

They really are delicious, and well worth the trouble searching for. Hey, you can probably even order them online. Here, I'm using them in place of pork and/or beef, in a fairly straightforward meat sauce recipe. Another great thing about the legs is the magnificent skin. I love it fried to a crisp, chopped up, and dusted on top of my pasta. A stunning contrast in texture and flavor. Enjoy!



Ingredients:
6 duck legs
olive oil
salt and pepper
1 onion
1 carrot
2 ribs celery
4 cloves garlic
red pepper flakes
1 cup white wine
28 oz can tomato puree
1 cup chicken broth
fresh rosemary, thyme, oregano (3 springs of each) tied with string
1 pound rigatoni
parmesan cheese

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